India, Pak Foreign Ministers hold talks

New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) The minister-level talks
between India and Pakistan were held here Wednesday against
the backdrop of India being clearly unhappy with new Pakistan
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar holding meeting with
Kashmiri separatist leaders ahead of parleys with S M Krishna.
Khar within hours of her arrival met separatist
leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and others in the Pakistan High
Commission Tuesday, an action which has been viewed as a
"bad idea" by the Indian side which is expected to raise the
issue during the talks.
Ahead of their discussions, both Krishna and Khar made
positive statements maintaining that they were looking towards
a cooperative relationship.
"I look forward to working closely with her, in
forging a peaceful and cooperative relationship between India
and Pakistan, which is in the interest of peace and
development of both our countries, the region and beyond. We
owe this to ourselves and to the generations to follow,"
Krishna said.
Asserting that they have come with a "positive
outlook", Khar, the youngest and the first woman Foreign
Minister of Pakistan, said, "We feel that the relationship
between the two countries should not be held hostage by the
past that the two countries have faced. We look forward to a
genuine interaction with India in a setting which is
respectful of reality of the two countries.
"As I have said, (there should be) peaceful
co-existence recognising the realities that exist within the
two countries," Khar said while noting that burden of
responsibility on the shoulders of India and Pakistan was not
only to work for peace and prosperity for the people of two
neighbours but also for peace and stability in the region. "I visualise a resurgent South Asia, proudly marching
forth on a path of development, in a terror free and
harmonious atmosphere," Krishna said.
Emphasising that Pakistan was looking for a positive
engagement with India, Khar said Pakistan seeks good, friendly
and cooperative relationship with India as an important
neighbour. "We also understand the responsibility that both
the countries have on their shoulders as important players in
the region," she said.
Both leaders noted that the challenges and aspirations
for the people of India and Pakistan and that of South Asia
were similar.
The restricted talks lasted for over half-an-hour
followed by delegation-level parleys.
Krishna was accompanied by Indian Foreign Secretary
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary-designate Ranjan Mathai, Y K
Sinha, joint secretary in-charge of Pakistan in MEA, Sharat
Sabharwal, India's High Commissioner to Pakistan, and other
senior officials.
Khar's delegation included Foreign Secretary Salman
Bashir, Zehra Akbari, Director General, South Asia, in
Pakistan's Foreign Office and Pakistan's High Commissioner to
India Shahid Malik.
Ahead of the Minister-level talks, Rao and Bashir had
Tuesday finalised a slew of CBMs designed to expand
cross-LoC travel and trade in north indian state Jammu and
Kashmir apart from holding discussions on terror including
progress in Pakistan in the probe into 2008 Mumbai attack case
and ISI's links with Kashmiri separatists.